How green is your neighborhood?

National program rates neighborhoods' eco-friendliness.

A new rating system, created under the Obama administration's Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities, will help home buyers separate the green from the greenwashed when it comes to eco-savvy communities. The rating system, created by the U.S Green Building Council, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Congress for New Urbanism, uses LEED-like criteria to rate the eco-friendliness of entire communities.

If you're not familiar with LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, it is the criteria used to judge the greenness of a home. With this new rating system, entire neighborhoods can apply for LEED certification. The goal is to create communities that are compact, walkable and energy-efficient.

Neighborhoods that are LEED-ND (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development) certified could get construction permits more quickly and may be more attractive to potential home buyers.

Check out the LEED-ND website to see a list of green neighborhoods currently under development. And tell me what you think of these types of communities. Would you or do you live in a "green neighborhood?"